“The month of Ramadan (is the month) in which the Qur’an has been sent down as guidance for mankind containing clear signs which lead (to the straight road) and distinguishing (the truth from falsehood)..”
(Surah Al Baqarah :185)
Doesn’t this Ramadan feel different? With the Covid 19 wrecking havoc of our routines and schedules, it has done the same to this precious months. The masjids are still closed,with no sight of it opening in the near future. This simply means that there will be no public Iftaars, no Tharaweeh prayers and if it extends further, then no Qiyamullail. How heart breaking is this thought! But there is another side to it – that the blessings that Allah has filled this month with doesn’t reduce the least. We look for all physical signs around us to feel the month. This time, it isn’t there much for us. It totally depends upon how we are going to guide our heart to look into the positives and take advantage of this month. May Allah make it easy for me and all of you to do the best we can, be the best we can and get us through this blessed month with goodness, righteousness and steadfastness…
I haven’t planned any posts for this month, so you will see me coming up with random posts, that will be more in line with the food habits during Ramadan. This may be the first time that I am really not ready, but I think this year seems to be a learning curve of sorts and I am liking it. 🙂 I had mentioned in this post that I had realized how different pakoda is from ullivada from a conversation with umma. It has been long since I have been wanting to make this and post on the blog. The major difference between both, even though the base ingredients are the same, are the flours used. In pakoda/ pakvada, besan is used, while in the ullivada, a mix of rice flour and all purpose flour is used. This difference gives a totally different dimension to both these deep fried goodies, if I need to say…
Moreover, the ullivada has a dough like texture. So you bring the whole thing into a dough and then pinch out to fry them. Umma uses aatta instead of maida, and I took to the same. It doesn’t make much difference to the overall deliciousness of the ullivada. With a hot cup of chai, this is just the easiest snack you could make for your Iftar times. We usually eat snacks once Maghrib is done and we are relaxed and with the girls loving this dish, I reckon this to be on repeat for those lazy times. Off to the recipe…
Ullivada | Malabar Onion Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 meduim onions thinly sliced
- 2 green chillies minced
- 1 inch pc ginger minced
- 1 sprig curry leaves minced
- 2-3 tbsp chopped coriander
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1/4 cup wholewheat flour
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except oil into a bowl. Rub well with your fingers. Add water little by little till you have a dough in hand.
- Heat oil for deep frying. When the heat is really hot, pinch spoonfuls and drop into the oil. Fry till golden.
- Drain on a kitchen towel and enjoy warm.
A wonderful snack Rafeeda, easy to make and with some chutney, perfect indulgence. We are going through difficult times and perhaps God is demanding a different kind of sacrifice from all of us as lately all religious events world over had become less of religious significance and more as a fun event. Perhaps with everyone having stayed at home during Ram Navmi, Hanuman Jayanti, Akshaya Titra, Easter, Good Friday etc it has given us the time to thing the real significance of religious events.
I totally agree Mayuriji… This time has actually made all of us realize the purpose of religion and its dimensions… Thank you so much for your kind comment…